Let's Call It A Peace Offering
by CylonRaydor
Summary: Brenda came to apologise. (Sorry about the glitchy formatting, it's fixed!)


**Title: **Let's Call It A Peace Offering  
**Characters/Pairing: **Brenda/Sharon Friendship  
**Fandom: **The Closer  
**Rating:** T  
**Disclaimer: **Don't own. Please don't sue.  
**Summary:** Brenda came to apologise.  
**Author's Note:** I was struggling with writer's block so grrrilike came up with a few little prompts for me. This one was: _"Brenda goes down to FID to apologise for something and Sharon immediately assumes she's there to give her a hard time."_

Sharon Raydor signs another report and closes the manilla folder it's in, moving it to her outbox. It's late, and she's been working her way through the never-ending pile of paperwork on her desk for what feels like hours. Sighing quietly she removes her glasses and rests them gently on the desk in front of her, letting her eyes slip shut. Most days she doesn't mind the paperwork- it brings order to things. There is a procedure to be followed; you check the boxes, cross the t's, dot the i's. Today, it isn't bring her much peace.

Earlier in the day Sharon had been shadowing Brenda on a case. They were at a crime scene and, as usual, the Chief was doing everything she could to find a way around the rules. Sharon tried to keep her mouth shut and avoid confrontation, honestly she did, but Will Pope was on the warpath and she could see Brenda was headed for disaster. Sharon wasn't sure how many more times she could save the younger woman after she got herself in trouble. She was left with no choice; she spoke up. The Captain politely reminded the Chief of protocol- quietly, and not in front of her team. She pointed out that Pope had explicitly requested (and then ordered) that Brenda not order yet another expensive rollout. If she needed it, there was a procedure to be followed, and that procedure meant filling in the correct paperwork and receiving approval from Pope himself. The budget was tight, and 'better to seek forgiveness than ask permission' wasn't going to fly. Brenda, predictably, had torn her a new one. Sharon had been trying to help, and the younger woman's response had moved beyond hostile to just plain mean. The brunette had taken it on the chin silently then apologised and left without a fuss, but if she was honest with herself today had hurt much more than usual. Brenda had made it personal.

When the silence in her office is interrupted by a knock on her office door Sharon fights an irritated groan. "Yes! Come in!" she calls out as she opens her eyes and puts her glasses back on, sitting up properly. The door swings open and _of course_ it's the last person she wants to see. Why can't that woman just leave her alone?

"Captain?" the blonde says as she steps in, and Sharon steels herself for the inevitable attack. It's 10pm on a weeknight, can't Brenda just go home use her husband as her verbal punching bag? Sharon doesn't get paid enough to handle her shit.

"Chief," she replies tersely. She pauses for a moment, then decides to continue, insubordination be damned. "If you came here to yell at me again I believe you made your position perfectly clear at the crime scene earlier. You can spare me the lecture about where I fit in the chain of command, I've heard it enough and frankly it's getting old. It's my job to try and help you and-"

"Captain," Brenda cuts her off. "I didn't come here to argue. I came to apologise," she tells her honestly. "I was outta line earlier. You're right, you were just trying to help... If it makes you feel any better I spent a half hour in Pope's office this afternoon with him givin' me the exact lecture you were trying to avoid me having to hear."

Sharon nods silently. She won't admit it out loud, but it does actually make her feel a little better.

"Anyway, I got you a… Let's call it a peace offering," she says, holding out a small gift bag.

"Chief, you didn't have to…"

"What I said today went beyond me being Deputy Chief and you being a Captain. I went too far. It wasn't my finest hour," Brenda admits, looking down. "So maybe I didn't have to," she tells her, "but I wanted to." She reaches out and rests the bag on the Captain's desk in front of her.

Sharon eyes the bag and then looks up at Brenda. "Thank you," she says, not quite sure what to make of all of this.

"You can go ahead and open it," Brenda encourages. "I hope you like it, I kinda realised that despite us working together for so long now I really don't know that much about you so I had to… Anyway, open it."

Sharon peers into the bag and removes some tissue paper, revealing a tin of looseleaf tea and what appears to be a little… is that a tiny rubber duck? She furrows her brow in confusion then removes the bright yellow object, her eyebrows raising in surprise when she sees it has a fine mesh basket underneath- it's a tea infuser. _'The duck must float on top while the tea infuses… That's incredible!' _she thinks to herself, her lips quirking slightly.

"I know you like your tea and I'm told the stuff we have in the break room isn't great. I hope the flavour is okay, I kept the receipt," Brenda says self-consciously, fishing around for it in her oversized handbag. "And the duck… Well, I know it's not really very 'Captain Raydor'," she admits sheepishly, suddenly feeling awkward about the whole thing.

"It's… Cute," Sharon smiles as she looks at the infuser more closely, surprised and not at all condescending. "It may not be 'Captain Raydor', as you put it, but _Sharon_ likes it very much. Thank you, Chief."

"It's symbolic," Brenda tells her quickly, fidgeting a little. She wonders how Sharon always manages to have her on the back foot. She is a capable, accomplished woman, and her superior officer, but Brenda still has trouble feeling confident around the brunette unless they're yelling at each other. "Have you ever seen a duck swimming?"

"Yes…" Sharon replies hesitantly, not at all sure where Brenda is going with this.

"On top of the water they look all composed. The way they move across the surface it looks effortless, but underneath their little legs are paddlin' away like mad." She pauses and smiles gently at Sharon. "You make your job look easy, Captain, but I want you to know I recognise all the hard work you've been puttin' in behind the scenes and I appreciate it. Honestly I do," she says, making eye contact with the older woman.

Sharon's eyes widen and she blinks a few times, clearly surprised. "I.. Chief, I'm at a loss… I'm afraid you've caught me by surprise."

"You assumed because I sound like a hick I don't know what a metaphor is?" What is it about this woman that makes her so defensive?

"No," Sharon tells her. "Honestly, I'm the one who's appearing foolish at the moment. I was going to say I'm touched and I'm not sure I can articulate how much it means to me that you…" she trails off and smiles, deciding she's better off leaving it there. She stands up and holds her hand out. "Thank you, Chief."

Brenda smiles back and shakes Sharon's hand with a small nod of acknowledgement, her gentle grasp lingering a little longer than is strictly professional. "You're welcome, Captain."


End file.
